Project: Telstra’s Broadbanding the Top End

Adeline Teoh
March 25, 2011

The nature of things

Robust logistical planning was another crucial element of the project. The Telstra team had to bring everything with them—from the machinery and power supply, to accommodation and food—and ensure delivery and removal met with Indigenous guidelines.

“The teams had to be fully self-sufficient. We couldn’t always predict what we’d need, but the project managers had done well in anticipating those contingencies and the schedule they’d built had a level of float in there,” says Gibbs.

Complicating matters was the impending wet season, which heightened the importance of completing the project on time; Telstra’s project managers additionally had to build in risk mitigation to deal with an earlier than expected onset of the wet season, or a blowout in the schedule.

The harsh surrounds, including the high temperature of the working environment, compounded the difficulties of the process. Telstra decided to provide air-conditioned accommodation—and a power supply to run it—for the team, no mean feat when there was up to 200 people working on it at some points. “We also provided 10 litres of bottled water per person per day because they needed to keep their fluids up. We had to look after their health and welfare so they could turn up each day and do their work,” says Gibbs.

Heat was not the only thing occupational health and safety protocols addressed; Gibbs says wildlife was also a risk factor, with contractors at one point bailed up by a herd of buffalo. Crocodiles, too, posed a threat. “We brought rangers in to give us briefings on what were known crocodile areas. There was caution given: when you park your 4WD and come back to it, pause and look underneath because one could just be pausing in the shade and if you surprise it, it could get nasty,” he relays. “We had crocodile shooters come in, but thankfully we didn’t have to use them.”

Gibbs says while he’s proud of the dedication of the team that had to work through the tough conditions, he’d nominate the traditional owners’ positive reaction to the project’s completion as a highlight.

“At the end of the process, the traditional owners were happy to acknowledge what we had done, including testimonial that read: ‘The project was the best ever any white people have done on Aboriginal land’,” he quotes. “And when we had other traditional owners saying we had met all their requirements and they were pleased with what we’d done, and they were going to reap the benefits of it, that was a real highlight.”

Combined with the superior engineering outcomes, the achievement of commercial expectations and delivery within the exceptional timeline, the community aspect will remain an ongoing positive for the project as the cable now gives nine remote Aboriginal communities, some on outlying islands, access to the internet.

“We’ve done something that will improve the general wellbeing of the community because they’re getting enhanced health facilities, educational facilities, and in some cases, enhanced commerce facilities,” says Gibbs. “Not only is this a great project, but I’m proud we’ve done something that’s facilitated the improvement of community living both now and going forward. This cable that we’ve put in will, I truly believe, become a piece of iconic communications infrastructure.”

Author avatar
Adeline Teoh
Adeline Teoh is the editor and publisher of ProjectManager.com.au. She has more than a decade of publishing experience in the fields of business and education, and has specialised in writing about project management since 2007.
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